Written Answers Tuesday 21 March 2006

Scottish Executive

Cancer

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it gives to families of children recently diagnosed with cancer.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the provision of financial support directly to families of children recently diagnosed with cancer. This is reserved to the Department of Work and Pensions who are responsible for a range of benefits and services for families.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to follow the initiative of Elliot Morley MP, UK Minister of State for Climate Change and Environment, in offering householders council tax rebates of up to £100 if they take up energy efficiency measures.

George Lyon: We have no current plans to introduce a council tax rebate for energy efficient homes. We are currently awaiting the recommendations of the independent Local Government Finance Review Committee into the future of local taxation. The committee’s report will be published later this year.

Equal Pay

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has discussed the financial implications of addressing unequal pay with local authorities, COSLA and trade unions; what cognisance it has taken of such discussions, and what specific responses and actions it has taken as a result.

George Lyon: The Executive has had contact with a number of local authorities, COSLA and trade unions about the financial implications of the equal pay negotiations taking place at council level. The views expressed have been noted and are being taken into account. However, it is for councils, as employers, to conclude arrangements relating to their employees and the Executive has made clear its expectation that this will be done in a way that strikes a balance between what is fair and equitable to the people whom councils employ and also to tax payers. There are regular discussions between the Executive and COSLA and councils relating to finance issues generally and those discussions will continue. In particular, we have made clear we are keen to engage with councils to assist them to deliver service transformation, and on what might be achieved through a radical re-design of the way local services are delivered and supported, with a view to providing better and more efficient services for the people of Scotland.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what instances there have been of the provision of cranial remoulding helmets for children with plagiocephaly in each NHS board area in the last five years.

Lewis Macdonald: Cranial remoulding helmets are not available on the NHS in Scotland. However, five children have been fitted with helmets as part of a pilot at the Orthotic Department at Yorkhill Hospital, and one NHS board has twice refunded the cost of treatment at a private clinic.

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the report by James Mackay, in relation to the Shirley McKie and Marion Ross fingerprints was concluded; to whom it was communicated; whether it was passed to any civil servant of the Executive’s Justice Department; whether its contents were the subject of any report to the Justice Department, and whether its contents, or the conclusions of the report, or any of these, were reported by any civil servant to the Minister for Justice and, if so, whether it will provide copies of any such document in which the Minister for Justice was so advised.

Cathy Jamieson: The Mackay and Robertson report was a confidential report relating to a criminal investigation, completed on 20 October 2000. The report was submitted in full to the Regional Procurator Fiscal at Paisley, the President of ACPOS and the Deputy Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police.

  The Scottish Executive was advised of the Lord Advocate’s decision (that there should be no criminal proceedings against employees of SCRO), which was made after consideration of the Mackay and Robertson report and a report by the Regional Procurator Fiscal at Paisley following his consideration of the Mackay and Robertson report.

  Neither the Mackay and Robertson report nor the Regional Procurator Fiscal’s report was made available to the Justice Department or to Justice Ministers.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the Shirley McKie case.

Cathy Jamieson: None.

Justice

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23041 by Hugh Henry on 23 February 2006, where the guidance on resolving disputes without going to court is published; how it may be accessed by members of the public, and how the public can find out about the mediation and advice services available.

Hugh Henry: The guidance is contained in a booklet entitled Resolving Disputes Without Going to Court, which was produced by the Scottish Executive Justice Department in 2004 and updated last year. The electronic version of the booklet can be accessed through the Scottish Executive’s website ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/justice/rdwgc-00.asp ); hard copies can also be obtained by contacting the Justice Department at St Andrew’s House, Regent Road, Edinburgh (0131 244 4844). The booklet contains general information on mediation and other forms of dispute resolution and has contact points for various dispute resolution services and other sources of help.

Malnutrition

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients who were diagnosed with malnutrition on entering hospital were still suffering from malnutrition (a) on discharge and (b) four weeks after discharge in each year since 1999, broken down by age group.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

Malnutrition

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors hospital patients diagnosed with malnutrition who are still suffering from malnutrition on discharge from hospital.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is a matter for NHS boards.

Malnutrition

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from professional bodies or individuals in Scotland with regard to malnutrition rates across all age groups.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive has received a number of letters and parliamentary questions from MSPs in recent weeks.

Music Industry

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it defines the music industry.

Patricia Ferguson: The music industry has no official definition, but we take it to mean any activity which encourages involvement in music making across all age groups and music styles, and recognises and celebrates the social, personal and economic value of music and music making.

Planning

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it will undertake in respect of the proposed national planning framework.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish ministers are committed to consulting widely on the national planning framework. The Executive will ensure that all those with an interest are given opportunities to express their views on its scope and content. Consultative mechanisms will include thematic seminars, meetings with representative organisations and the issue of a consultative draft. Parliament will have the opportunity to offer views on the scope and content of the framework prior to the publication of the consultative draft.

Planning

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the proposed national planning framework has a robust, transparent and accountable approval mechanism.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill provides for the final version of the national planning framework to be submitted to Parliament for scrutiny and debate. On publication of the framework, a report will be produced detailing the changes which ministers have made in the light of parliamentary consideration.

Planning

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider including, as part of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill, a statutory requirement on the Executive to consult the public on the content of the proposed national planning framework.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill already contains a provision requiring the Scottish ministers to consult on the National Planning Framework. Ministers are committed to ensuring that the public are given opportunities to express their views on its scope and content.

Planning

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will provide the public with the opportunity to object to proposals contained in the National Planning Framework, as referred to in the Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish ministers are keen to encourage people to engage positively with the National Planning Framework. The public will have the opportunity to make representations on a consultative draft of the second National Planning Framework.

Prostitution

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in implementing the proposals contained in the report from the Expert Group on Prostitution, Being Outside: Constructing a Response to Street Prostitution .

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to make kerb-crawling an offence.

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in providing local authorities and their community planning partners with guidance on dealing with street prostitution.

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed Sentencing Bill will deal with prostitution-related offences and when it expects to introduce the bill.

Hugh Henry: The Executive announced its response to the proposals contained in the report of the Expert Group on Prostitution on 1 November 2004, outlining our policy on street prostitution. The full response is available on the Executive’s website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/criminal/17543/Response/StreetProst.

  The response states that we will produce guidance and good practice for local authorities and their community planning partners. The guidance will detail how local authorities and their partners should address street prostitution through the community planning process in order to: tackle demand for prostitution; prevent involvement in prostitution; reduce the harm for the women who are involved, and provide assistance to women ready to leave prostitution. My officials have had a number of informal meetings with stakeholders to help prepare the guidance and we intend to consult on draft guidance shortly.

  The response also states that we will create a new offence which will focus on the nuisance and offence caused by street prostitution related activity, whether caused by the purchaser or the seller. This will deliver on our commitment to criminalise the nuisance and offence caused by kerb crawlers, and will also cover purchasers who are on foot. The provisions would replace the existing soliciting offence and it is our present intention to include them in legislation to be introduced in Parliament in the summer.

Rail Services

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration has been given to operating regular rail passenger services between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Cumbernauld station or between Cumbernauld and Edinburgh Waverley.

Tavish Scott: There are no current plans to alter the existing service frequency between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Cumbernauld or between Cumbernauld and Edinburgh Waverley.

  However, proposals to increase the frequency of services between Cumbernauld and Glasgow and between Cumbernauld and Falkirk Grahamston are included in the A80/M80 Park and Ride study undertaken by Falkirk Council and recently submitted to Transport Scotland for consideration.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Scottish Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs of recruiting the new Director of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service.

Nicol Stephen: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Special Educational Needs

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23153 by Robert Brown on 3 March 2006, how many applications were received for each post of membership and convenership of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals and, of those applicants, how many (a) were currently, or had been, employed by or contracted to a local authority, (b) were currently, or had been, employed by or contracted to an NHS board, (c) were parent representatives or (d) were active in other capacities.

Robert Brown: One hundred and sixty-eight applications were received for the posts of member of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals, and 80 applications for the posts of convener. A breakdown of the information requested on employment is provided in the following table and has been obtained from the employment history section of the application form submitted by applicants in July 2005. The form did not ask specifically about their role as a parent representative and therefore figures on this part of the question cannot be provided.

  Employment History of Members and Conveners Additional Support Needs Tribunals – as at July 2005

  

 
Currently Employed 
or Contracted by a Local Authority
Previously Employed or Contracted by a Local Authority
Currently Employed or Contracted by 
an NHS Board
Previously Employed or Contracted by 
an NHS Board
Others -not Employed by a 
Local Authority or NHS Board
Total


Members
58
73
4
12
32
179* 


Conveners
14
19
0
0
47
80


Total
72
92
4
12
79
259



  Note: *These figures include 11 applicants recording employment in both local authority and NHS boards.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the statement in  sportscotland’s report, The Ticking Time Bomb , published in 2001, that "if Scotland wishes to retain its present level of public pool provision over the next twenty years, there will be a need for massive re-investment in existing pools…somewhere around £540 million over 22 years", what action it has taken to address this issue and how much funding it (a) has committed since 2001 and (b) plans to commit in the future to swimming pools.

Patricia Ferguson: In response to the Ticking Time Bomb report,  sportscotland established the lottery funded swimming pool strand under its Sports Facilities programme. £10 million was committed to this strand and over £8 million was awarded before the strand was subsumed within  sportscotland’s Building for Sport programme in May 2004. Projects involving swimming pools remain eligible for funding from the Building for Sport programme and since its introduction over £1.75 million has been awarded.

Telecommunications

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive why it is necessary to have a TETRA O2 Airwave transmitter in Kyleakin.

Nicol Stephen: The transmitter provides Northern Constabulary with police radio communications in the area.

Telecommunications

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the community of Kyleakin was first informed about the recently installed TETRA O2 Airwave transmitter.

Nicol Stephen: The installation of any radio mast for the Police Airwave network is a matter for the service provider, O2 acting within the planning application framework.

Telecommunications

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any reports of ill-health among those who live in proximity to TETRA O2 Airwave transmitters and, if so, what discussions it had with NHS Highland prior to the transmitter being installed near the village primary school in Kyleakin.

Nicol Stephen: A review of scientific evidence on "Possible Health Effects from Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA)" in 2001 by the UK Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) concluded that "Although areas of uncertainty remain about the biological effects of low-level RF radiation in general, including modulated signals, current evidence suggests that it is unlikely that the special features of the signals from TETRA mobile terminals and repeaters pose a hazard to health . "

  In keeping with the recommendations of the AGNIR report, the Home Office is pursuing these "areas of uncertainty" in a comprehensive programme of research work. In consideration of the results available to date, the Home Office has conclude that "TETRA health and safety issues have been subject to careful investigation by independent experts. Their advice is that it is unlikely that TETRA technology presents a risk to health."

  We are not aware of any reports of ill health and have not had discussions with NHS Highland.

Telecommunications

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the locations where TETRA O2 Airwave transmitters will be switched on in 2006.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does not hold lists of TETRA radio sites.

Telecommunications

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what locations were considered as alternatives for the Kyleakin TETRA mast to the site above Old Kyle Farm Road and why they were rejected.

Nicol Stephen: The Kyleakin TETRA transmitter on the site above Old Kyle Farm Road provides Northern Constabulary with police radio communications in the area. The issues around the selection of a site to provide the contractual level of coverage for the police in Kyleakin is a matter for the service provider O2 Airwave.

Telecommunications

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Northern Constabulary Chief Constable’s statement that the force would need 287 TETRA sites to deliver Airwave, why only 150 have been installed.

Nicol Stephen: The number of sites required is a matter for the service provider, O2 Airwave.

Telecommunications

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers are the reasons for reported adverse health symptoms within communities in proximity to TETRA masts and whether there are plans to investigate such reported symptoms.

Nicol Stephen: A publication by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) on Dealing With Assertions of Risk or Effects From Environmental Exposures sets out a structured approach to dealing with assertions of health effects associated with environmental exposures.

  There is no evidence currently to suggest that health symptoms within any communities in Scotland are likely to be associated directly with their proximity to TETRA masts. The need for local investigation in accordance with the aforementioned HPS Guidance is a matter for consideration by the local NHS board.

Waste Disposal

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to proposed plants for sewage sludge burning in each year since 1999.

Rhona Brankin: The disposal of sewage sludge is an operational matter for Scottish Water. I have asked the Chief Executive to reply to you directly.